By Jane Barker: If history holds, turnout for the election in November will be the lowest in Virginia’s four-year cycle of annual elections, as this poll comes three years after the previous presidential election. But so much hangs in the balance this year – Democratic majorities in both the state House and Senate are tantalizingly close – that we cannot…
By Susan Laume: Lucky Clifton residents on Monday, Sept. 16, got an opportunity to sample free ice cream and show their support for Virginian ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Clifton was just one stop in an ice cream truck tour of the Commonwealth by volunteers to remind voters that if Virginia ratifies the ERA it will become the 38th…
As the largest minority in Fairfax County, Asian-Americans are a major focus of outreach activity for the local Democratic Party, which faces a critical election on Nov. 5 to determine the control of the state assembly. Today Republicans hold one-vote majorities in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and the Democrats are mounting a major effort here in northern…
Press release from the Fairfax County Democratic Committee: The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) and Jeff McKay for Chairman have launched a joint field effort to help drive Democratic candidates to victory on November 5. This joint undertaking, called “Fighting for Fairfax,” is the most comprehensive campaign support initiative in the party’s history. Fighting for Fairfax augments the existing paid…
By Brad Swanson: Sean Perryman has only been president of the Fairfax County NAACP for a month, but he already has his priorities clear. “My plan is to focus on fewer issues, but go deeper,” he said. The top three topics for him are cannabis legalization, school name changes, starting with Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, and more…
By Brad Swanson: Ricardo Alfaro is a man on a mission. As the newly elected president of the Latino Democratic Caucus in Virginia, he has crafted an ambitious workplan to expand the group’s reach and counter the rising tide of fear engulfing the Latino community in the Trump era. “No one should feel unsafe going to school or grocery shopping…
A pink slip at work is bad news. But blue slips may make the difference between Democratic wins and losses at this November’s election. Blue slips are the informal name for the one-page reminders that Democratic volunteers are handing out to voters, directing them to manage all their voting needs by going to the “Voting” page on the Fairfax County…
By Brad Swanson: Like many readers of The New York Times, both here in northern Virginia and across the nation, Dan Helmer was taken aback by the indifference to gun violence shown by an incumbent Virginia state delegate, especially in the wake of last week’s dual mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. The only difference is that Helmer, a…
By Kimberly Davis: A curious alteration of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s famed Impressionist painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” has captured attention at recent events. Wait, isn’t that state delegate candidate Dan Helmer (dist. 40) in white? And there’s some other familiar faces there… Many of these faces and close to 200 more showed up for a real-life boating party on Sunday,…
By Todd Smyth: We know how to solve epidemic gun violence. Every other developed country has solved this problem. Republicans won’t allow it in America. We know how to get better healthcare that covers everyone. Every other developed country spends half as much, with better results. Republicans won’t allow it in America. We know how to solve catastrophic climate change.…
By Paul Davis: Four young Democrats from Fairfax County were recently elected members of issues caucuses at the national level. The elections took place at the 2019 Young Democrats of America convention on July 16-22 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Fairfax Young Democrats elected are: Bo Cherif, Black Caucus Dan Rosenberg and Denver Supinger, Jewish Caucus Jessica Sun, Disabilities Caucus The…
By Todd Thurwachter: Early voting is a key tool in increasing Democratic voter turnout — just ask Dr. Ibraheem Samirah. In Samirah’s successful race for state delegate in a special election on Feb. 19, early voting shot up 335% in Herndon compared to the special election just a month earlier for state senator, whose district included those same Herndon precincts.…
By Jerry Poje: Fairfax County’s future is on the line. As we saw in part I of this series, high housing costs are forcing lower income families, young adults and seniors to migrate out of our region. This cripples our diversity, clogs roadways and explodes our regional carbon footprint. But something can be done, and is being done, to address…
By Lola Quintela: Drummers, a parade, and rousing speeches gave last weekend’s northern Virginia Women’s Summit a charge of excitement while breakout sessions allowed participants to dive deep into important issues at the sold-out event. Northern Virginia lawmakers at both federal and state levels energized the estimated 1,000 participants at the 3-day event, June 28-30, and strategized on the campaign…